Shoulder pads are worn by players of contact sports, such as hockey, lacrosse and football, for upper body protection. The shoulder pads typically comprise front and back portions for respectively protecting front and back regions of a player's thorax and left and right shoulder protectors for respectively protecting the player's left and right shoulders.
Each shoulder protector usually comprises a protective cap, referred to as a “shoulder cap”, which includes a shell of rigid material (e.g., polycarbonate or other rigid plastic) for protecting at least part of the player's shoulder. While the shell's rigidity can improve protection of the player's shoulder, it can often restrict or otherwise adversely affect freedom of movement of the player's shoulder. For instance, the shell of the shoulder cap normally overlies an acromioclavicular joint region of the player's shoulder and its rigidity can impede movement at this joint region as the player's moves his/her arm.
Similar issues can be encountered with protective caps of various other types of protective athletic garments, such as leg pads and elbow pads, worn by individuals involved in athletic activities to protect their body.
For these and other reasons, there is a need for improvements in protective caps of protective athletic garments.